The Trinity
Titus 3:4–7
God our Savior . . . saved us . . . by . . . the Holy Spirit . . . through Jesus Christ our Savior. Titus 3:4–6

It is common among Christians to divide the work of God among the three persons, applying the work of creation to the Father, the work of redemption to the Son, and the work of sanctification to the Holy Spirit. A more correct way of speaking is to say that each member of the Trinity cooperates in each work.

One example is the work of creation. It is said of God the Father, “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands” (Ps. 102:25). It is written of the Son, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Col. 1:16); and “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). It is written of the Holy Spirit, “The Spirit of God has made me” (Job 33:4). In the same way, the incarnation is shown to have been accomplished by the three persons of the Godhead working in unity, though only the Son became flesh (see Luke 1:35). At the baptism of the Lord all three were also present: the Son came up out of the water, the Spirit descended in the appearance of a dove, and the voice of the Father was heard from heaven declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:16–17). All three persons were present in the atonement, as Hebrews 9:14 declares: “Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God.” The resurrection of Christ is likewise attributed sometimes to the Father (Acts 2:32), sometimes to the Son (John 10:17–18), and sometimes to the Holy Spirit (Rom. 1:4).

We are not surprised, therefore, that our salvation as a whole is also attributed to each of the three persons: “Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood” (1 Peter 1:2 NIV). Nor are we surprised that we are sent forth into all the world to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19).

But although we can say meaningful things about the Trinity (on the basis of God’s revelation of them), the Trinity is still unfathomable. We should be humble before the Trinity. We believe the doctrine of the Trinity, not because we understand it, but because the Bible teaches it and because the Spirit himself witnesses within our heart that it is so.

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.